“Sports Entertainment Solidified” is a professional wrestling column by Maddy Myer that runs each Monday.

Professional wrestling is an ever-evolving sport full of acrobats, never-before-seen athleticism, completely crafted characters with angle and a lot extra. Each week, women and men lay their our bodies on the road contained in the ring for the viewers’s leisure and produce their all on the mic to invoke feelings into the viewers’s hearts. New storylines are crafted inside minutes, fan reactions can change how a wrestler acts in entrance of a reside crowd and an harm can finish a profession that would have gone down in historical past.

Each week, followers tune into the sports activities leisure spectacle with WWE on the helm. All Elite Wrestling (AEW), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) and Impact Wrestling are all huge hitters as properly and appeal to massive audiences. The surprising thrill of ready for the winner of every match is just like the adrenaline rush one will get proper earlier than the massive drop on the high of a curler coaster. There’s really nothing prefer it.

Not everybody generally is a John Cena or The Rock, the sort that transcends skilled wrestling and enters into common tradition eternally, however these wrestlers can absolutely attempt their greatest every week to make it to that degree.

Here are the highest professional wrestling matches from the previous week.

CM Punk and FTR vs. Samoa Joe and Bullet Club Gold (AEW Collision, June 17)

In AEW’s latest weekly present, AEW Collision, CM Punk made his return to wrestling in over 9 months. This return had an unbelievable quantity of buzz surrounding it, and Punk didn’t disappoint. He introduced out all of the stops, from his Macho Man Randy Savage-inspired elbow drop from the highest rope to his working excessive knee to the nook. His chemistry with Samoa Joe was one thing out of a film as properly, which is becoming, contemplating they each began on comparable paths on the impartial wrestling scene.

FTR additionally delivered agility-filled performances towards Juice and Jay White (Bullet Club Gold), which helped maintain the viewers’s eye not solely on the center of the ring, but in addition on what was occurring exterior of it. Punk hit his “go to sleep” finisher to choose up the victory for his group.

Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens vs. Gunther and Ludwig Kaiser (WWE Monday Night Raw, June 12)

Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens are two of essentially the most gifted wrestlers on WWE’s roster. Put them towards Gunther, one other one in every of WWE’s most outstanding athletes, and it creates magic within the ring. Zayn’s fast reversals towards Kaiser confirmed his pace and veteran standing, whereas Owens vs. Gunther was like watching two technically sound, however nonetheless highly effective behemoths going at it.

While each Owens and Gunther are over 260 kilos, it doesn’t present of their efficiency, as their pace matches their energy in each facet. From Owens’ superkick, cannonball and swanton bomb alone, one wouldn’t be capable to flip their eyes away from the match. Zayn picked up the victory for his group after nailing the blue thunder bomb towards Kaiser, whereas Owens hit Gunther with a DDT transfer exterior the ring.

Skye Blue vs. Toni Storm (AEW Dynamite, June 14)

From nailing hurricanranas to working knees, Skye Blue showcased a flurry of killer offense towards Toni Storm that was fairly spectacular for a wrestler who solely signed with the corporate in April. Even with the can of spray paint thrown into the ring that was imagined to be sprayed on Blue by Storm and with Ruby Soho exterior the ring attempting to distract Blue, Blue was capable of hit her finisher as properly. Still, Storm’s almost-perfect Texas Cloverleaf submission maintain was an excessive amount of for Blue after the injury she had already sustained.

Moose vs. Rich Swann (Impact, June 15)

The story is as outdated as time: just a little man versus an enormous man —on this case, nevertheless, a cruiserweight (Swann) versus a heavyweight (Moose). The chemistry on this match was simple. The a lot faster Swann was touchdown high-risk strikes like dropkicks from the highest rope till his momentum shifted. Swann’s dive towards Moose exterior the ring ended with a Moose reversal, two powerbombs and Swann being thrown into the metallic barricades at ringside. Once again contained in the ring, there was a variety of backwards and forwards, however Moose received the higher hand after some chops to Swann’s chest and a superplex from the highest ropes onto the mat. In the closing moments, Swann was capable of counter Moose’s finisher for the short rollup pin and victory.

From Punk’s triumphant return to a David and Goliath matchup with the likes of Swann and Moose, final week’s wrestling matchups have been stacked. Let’s see if subsequent week continues this momentum, as a number of professional wrestling promotions have pay-per-view occasions developing quickly.